Simmons rates Splitter’s contract among worst in NBA

ESPN/Grantland mogul Bill Simmons has always been an NBA die-hard at heart. As such, he unfurled one of his annual traditions on Tuesday with a list of the league’s worst contracts, featuring none other than Spurs center Tiago Splitter in a tie with Cleveland’s Jarrett Jack at 23.

After running through a list of NBA “rules” — sample: Always act like you felt at least a little remorse about committing a flagrant foul, unless you did it to Blake Griffin — Simmons gets to the punch line:

You knew those rules, but I bet you didn’t know this new one: “Every four years, all NBA teams have to overpay a role player like he’s a valuable starter.”

Yup, that’s a rule. They all have to do it. And you wondered why San Antonio spent $36 million on Splitter (when it could have just stolen Robin Lopez for $5 million), or Cleveland lavished Jack with six times the money that Randy Foye would have cost. By the way, I always take it personally when San Antonio overpays someone. The Spurs are supposed to be the smartest team! Come on, R.C. Buford! You’re a role model!!! You gave $36 million to someone who couldn’t stay on the court in the 2013 Finals???? Not you, too! Why??????

Lopez isn’t a terrible comparison given that they both protect the rim at similar rates with comparable Player Efficiency Ratings. Ironically, it was Buford’s decisive move to give Splitter such a healthy deal that stymied Portland, among other potential suitors, from signing him to a restricted offer sheet. That, in turn, led to the Blazers adding Lopez, who has fit in almost perfectly.

As for Splitter, his minutes (24.7 per game to 21.5), shooting (56.6 percent to 54.4 percent), scoring (10.3 to 8.1) and PER (18.7 to 16.6) are all down this season. With injuries forcing him to miss 19 of 54 games — irritating his head coach in the process — it’s indisputable that Splitter has yet to justify the $10 million he’s making this season. Not even close, frankly.

And yet Splitter remains one of the league’s most effective rim protectors, a trait that made it almost essential that the Spurs bring him back even after a Finals that exposed his many shortcomings.

Opponents are shooting just 40.9 percent on shots he defends at the rim, fourth-best among 92 players who face at least four such attempts per game. (For comparison, Duncan is 36th at 48.6 percent.) Opponents score just 94.2 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the court — eight fewer than Duncan’s court time, and more than six points below their overall average of 100.4. Opponents shoot 42.7 percent when he’s on the court, and 45.4 percent when he’s not.

These are indicators of significant defensive impact. But because Splitter does all that while rarely blocking shots — just 1.6 percent of opposing attempts, one of the lowest marks of any starting center in the league — he’s almost criminally overlooked. While that doesn’t negate the other factors that have blunted his utility this season, it’s still a necessary piece of the discussion that gets left out far too often when assessing Splitter’s overall value.

Ten million dollars worth? Probably not. But more than many are willing to give him credit for.